Kuroko no Basuke: Summer Interhigh 2017
by kkkdragon123
Summary: Takes place after the anime and manga, and before EXTRA Game.
1. Chapter 1 - Prolouge

**CHAPTER 1 - PROLOUGE  
**

 _Teikō Junior High_ _School Basketball Club. A super strong school with more than 100 club members, boasting several successive championship wins. But even within that glorious history, there is still a team that can without fail be called the "strongest" - a generation of five players with talents that you would see once every ten years called the "Generation of Miracles._

 _A year has passed since the Miracles have entered high school, and as expected, all of them joined the basketball club and ended up facing each other. Summer Interhigh, Winter Cup, the two main events where the best of the best clashed. Nevertheless, the victor was surprisingly, not any of the teams the Generation of Miracles were in, but an outsider; one who could be said to be a "Miracle" who did not join the Miracle. With his shadow, the phantom sixth man of Teiko, his basketball team defeated the Generation of Miracles and drove that individualistic mindset out. Now in their second year, they prepare to face each other again, but with new enemies._

"Nice pass!"

School had just reopened, and as expected, the basketball club of Seirin High School had restarted their rigorous training after two weeks of break. In the late afternoon just on the first day of school, the main team were already practicing hard by themselves. Their coach, Riko Aida, stood by the side, observing their practice.

Junpei Hyuga, the shooting guard, had just received the ball from Shun Izuki, the team's point guard. He instantly took on his usual shooting form, and aimed at the hoop. Then, a looming figure jumped in front of him, completely blocking off his sight of the hoop.

Kagami Taiga, the team's power forward as well as the team's current tallest player, easily cut across the basketball's shooting path, causing Hyuga to quickly switch to a pass in mid-air back to Izuki.

 _Damn, he's too tall…_ Hyuga thought, annoyed. Kagami, whom landed, quickly darted towards Izuki, who was driving towards the hoop.

"Not so fast, Izuki-senpai!" the red haired player snapped.

"Heh, not really…" Izuki smirked, and threw the ball rather lamely to his back. Kagami's eyes widened as he noticed a blur figure behind him catch the ball. Kuroko Tetsuya raised the ball to face level, his left hand holding the underside of the ball, and right at the side, and then in one push—

Just like cannon, the ball burst forward as Kagami's irises tried to follow it, but his neck was too slow, and it easily went beyond his sight. He heard a soft _thud_ and then the basketball fell into the hoop. Kagami grinned as he saw Kuroko lowering his hands.

"Nice one Kuroko…" the other players said.

Riko smiled. The team was definitely improving, but the main problem is, they still don't have a suitable center. _Guess we'll have to depend on our juniors…_ she thought as she flickered through her list.

The match continued. Kagami got the ball and drove forward. Upon noticing Izuki's attempt to block him, he quickly made a natural crossover, and then instantly turned around 180 degrees whilst moving, completely blocking off Izuki in addition to his large stature, but also getting through him. Upon reaching near the hoop, he saw his senior Rinnosuke Mitobe, silent as ever, watching him in a defensive stance.

Kagami's eyes darted towards the left and he saw Shinji Koganei free.

"Koganei Senpai!" And he threw the ball at him, who caught it. "Leave it up to me!" he said confidently, and threw the ball. Sadly, the ball bounced off the hoop.

"Huh—?!" Koganei exclaimed, then quickly looked down at his feet in shame. It _was_ common knowledge Koganei's accuracy was only so-so.

"Don't worry! I've got this!" Kagami shouted as he sprinted towards the hoop and jumped, releasing dust in a dramatic fashion. Amazingly, Kagami was taking off higher and higher, and easily caught the ball almost 10 centimeters above the hoop itself, and slammed the ball into hoop, causing it to resonate loudly throughout the gym.

 _Damn… that never fails to impress me…_ Izuki grinned, and Mitobe nodded.

Kagami Taiga was the "miracle who did not become one of the miracles". This is because the Generation of Miracles were a group of players that each had a talent in which they were exceptionally masterful at. In fact, it could be said that this group of players were easily the best in Japan due to how absurdly skilled they are. As for Kagami, his particular talent was his raw jumping power, when at his peak, he could reach over the backboard, which made him excel at a sport like basketball where height mattered, and his lower body prowess enabled him to tower over almost anybody. In fact, amongst all the basketball players, Kagami's vertical jump height is the best. This makes him an extremely formidable opponent as only a few could truly match him in the air. Many of the Generation of Miracles has complimented on Kagami's playstyle and tenacity, and others believe his potential is limitless. Truly, he is the Seirin's Ace.

On the other hand, Kuroko Tetsuya could be said to be Kagami's opposite, like a yin of his yang. He is the "shadow", a supporter, someone that does not stand out, in contrast to Kagami's "light", a prodigious ace of the team. For Kuroko, he was the phantom sixth man of the five men Teiko team, acting as a shadow amongst five lights, and he specialises in passing, enabling the basketball to reach its destination in peculiar and unorthodox ways, in ways the opponent cannot predict, and thus lead the team to victory. In addition to this, he has the rare skill of misdirection, or known as a sleight of hand used by magicians to divert one's attention to something while the user does something else. In basketball, players will often be focused on the ball, and thus by constantly passing and keeping the ball away from himself, and coupled with his already weak presence, Kuroko is, in a sense, invisible on the court. Recently, he has devised ways to direct the opponent's attention on other objects so that he could utilise skills with the opponent whilst holding the basketball. Overall, Kuroko is an invaluable member of the team that has helped Seirin out of tight spots more than once.

"Right…" Hyuga, the captain, panted. "This is the last minute; let's give it everything we got! Including you, Kagami!" he added smugly.

Kagami smirked back, and nodded. He closed his eyes for a moment.

 _I need to win… to fight… for them…_ His mind was getting clearer, yes, this was good… He was on the right track; His control of the ZONE has certainly improved as compared to last year. Though not as experienced as Aomine, he could somewhat trigger that state more willingly now…

He could see the door…

Red sparks flowed out of his eyes, the electricity flowing smoothly. Kagami's breathing steadied; the voices around him become slightly muddy, his vision becoming increasing monotone. His mind was blank, but yet paradoxically, he was also focused. Out of the corner, he could see the score, Team A vs Team B: 17 – 28. Clearly, Hyuga's three pointers and Kuroko's shooting were both too much for him at the same time, but now it's different. The air in the gym grew increasingly tense. Then –

 ** _After a minute..._**

"Alright! That's enough!" Riko shouted while clapping her hands. She was no doubt satisfied with today's practice, although the sight in front of her worried her slightly.

Team B, which consisted of Hyuga, Kuroko, Izuki, Mitobe, and Tsuchida, were completely exhausted, either sitting or lying on the floor drowned in sweat. Team A, on the other hand, which consisted of Kagami, Koganei, Furihata, and Kawahara (they decided to give Team B a handicap since Kagami was too strong) seemed rather shaken, though not as exhausted as Team B. The final score was unbelievably for A – B: 39 – 28.

Kagami had singlehandedly blocked off Team B's offense, and enhanced Team's offense to the point of absurdity. The red sparks disappeared as Kagami regained control of himself; he was the only one standing on the court as the others were either too tired or too shaken. Even his teammates had trouble keeping up with him. With that, he grinned to himself and looked up to the ceiling.

He wondered how the others were doing. Kuroko, at the side, simply stared at him curiously.

At this moment, the gym doors flung opened, and the new batch of freshmen came through. Riko quickly slapped her palm to her forehead. _Oh damn… How am I going to have tryouts with our members like that…?_

* * *

Somewhere far away, a blue haired basketball player stood in the middle of the basketball court. He was spinning the ball on his index finger, staring lazily at the hoop, and then without much effort, simply tossed the ball into the hoop. Of course, it sank in and bounced back towards him.

A long time ago, he used to use the phrase "the only one who can beat me is me". But then, that mindset was crushed when he was defeated for the first time. He truly thought he was the best, that no one could defeat him, not even his _captain_. But out of all the players, he certainly did not expect the new player, one with so much raw yet unrefined talent to defeat him, he whom has never lost since _that_ day. The summer interhigh for this year is right around the corner, which meant that he would be able to face them again, and that made his blood pump with excitement.

He closed his eyes. Then, in an instant, blue electricity cackled from his pupils. He picked up the basketball and jumped, slamming it into the hoop.

* * *

 **Alright, I'm gonna restart my Kuroko no Basuke Summer Interhigh story now, so here's a prologue, reintroducing Seirin High! (it's quite short, i know...) Comment and review so I know what you guys think!  
**


	2. Chapter 2 - Familiar Faces

**CHAPTER 2 – Familiar Faces**

Rakuzan High's motto was "Accomplishment in both letters and arms"; meaning exceptional performance in the aspects of studies and sports, and an exemplary example of one such student is Akashi Seijuuro, a first year and captain of the Rakuzan Basketball team. No matter the occasion, this team would always be seen practicing extremely passionately in order to maintain their position as the Champions. Even though they did experience their first loss last year, it only served to further fuel their drive to win again this year, and naturally this fire burned ever so fiercely in all the players on the court in their gym.

"Nice pass!" a deep voice shouted as Akashi smoothly passed a Rakuzan first-string player and passed it to Nebuya Eikichi, an Uncrowned King known for his monstrous strength, and he performed a two handed dunk.

"Nice one, Nebuya!" Akashi commented, "Let's try again. First-string players! Your movements are getting better no doubt; however, your coordination could definitely be better!" He said sternly. The players nodded without question and quickly shifted to their original positions.

The score was now at a 103 -20, with Akashi and the other three Uncrowned Kings against the team of first-string players. Apparently, they were still trying to find a fifth member for their team.

Akashi started with the balls in his hands, and observed his surroundings. Kotaro and Nebuya being double teamed huh, he thought as he observed the player guarding him. He sighed _, they still have so much to improve on_ , and he shifted his gaze towards the left, to which the first-string player attempted to follow, and without warning the ball already landed perfectly in Reo Mibuchi's hands. The Uncrowned King known for his shooting abilities easily made a three pointer despite two players from Kotaro and Nebuya leaving their marks to block him. It was apparent even to an elementary grade school of the difference in skill.

"Alright, let's take a break; we have been practicing for over an hour already," Akashi said serenely. "Good Job guys!"

Akashi made his way towards the water cooler, in deep thought about his current team. They were good no doubt, but he nevertheless was still worried. After all, now that all of them are in their second year, the skills of the other Generation of Miracles would have drastically improved, with already three out of five miracles being able to enter ZONE, and there's no telling if the other two could as well. If he were to truly fight against them at full power, it would have to be the other "him", although using "his" skill did not suit him well.

 _So how's the team_ , the other voice spoke.

I thought you could see it already, Akashi said to him.

 _But against them, it'll have to be me that will fight, no?_ The voice pressed.

Akashi frowned; it was true, the only one who might have a real chance at beating the Miracles in a one-on-one would be the one who is the true owner of the Emperor Eye. The other him seemed to sense his unease, and simply said, _it's up to you. At this point, I'll leave it up to you. Whether you want me to play, it's your choice._ And with that, the voice faded away.

Akashi sprayed water on his face and looked up. Even though his relationship with his other self wasn't exactly pleasant, but it wasn't exactly rocky as well. After all it's still him: Akashi. In that way, he knew he could trust him as much as the other Akashi trusted him, albeit the other Akashi might need some restraint due his more violent tendencies and obsessive compulsion for winning. Although Akashi could not truly forgive his actions, he still sympathized with him as he was simply an extension of his own feelings. As he made his way back into the gym, he thought to himself that maybe just this once, he could rely on his other self just this once.

"Guys, let's start again!" And the referee blew his whistle.

Despite being deep in thought, Akashi's basketball skills were still as masterful as ever. As soon as he found a slight opening, he took it. With that, he quickly passed to ball to Kotaro Hayama, another Uncrowned King known for his extremely fast dribbles.

"Level three is enough, I guess?" Kotaro mumbled to himself, before making his usual confident grin. From a commoner's perspective trying to follow the ball, it seemed as though the ball had disappeared, but then before one could even realize it, Kotaro would already be a few meters ahead of you, having already made three to four dribbles in that few seconds. His _lightning dribble_ skill was certainly formidable. Without much difficulty, he made a basket.

The game continued with the team dominating the first string players, but yet they were hardly complaining, for being able to play with such strong players is a privilege for them.

Reo Mibuchi received the ball from Akashi, who made his signature elbow pass. He gripped the ball and aimed at the hoop, not before noticing a first year player jumping in front of him. He smirked to himself.

"Arara~ so it's an _Earth Shot_ then?" The 188cm shooting guard said, and he took the opportunity to jump towards the first-string player. He made contact, initiating a foul, or known as foul drawing where one creates contact with the defending player to call a foul and allowing for free throws. However, the Uncrowned King took it a step further with his masterful accuracy and made a three pointer. Hence, he could easily score another free point through the free throw, dubbing his play as a _four-point play._

The referee blew his whistle, and Mibuchi easily made his free throw shot, earning his team 4 points in total.

"Beautiful shot, Mibuchi," Akashi commented, causing Mibuchi to do a mini-dance akin to a playful toddler, and affectionately call out "Thanks, Sei-Chan!"

The match continued, with the point gap increasing sharply. Before they knew it, it was already half past six. "Let's play one last time before we end this, okay?" The captain called out, and everyone nodded.

With Akashi dribbling towards the hoop, he was taken aback by the sudden appearance of three first string players in front of him. He smiled, and accepted the challenge. Akashi dribbled forward, one of them attempted a steal, but failed when Akashi made a behind the back crossover, then as he tried to advance towards the hoop, the second player raised his hands in attempt to block him. Instinctively, Akashi easily made another crossover to his right and spun around to avoid him, and then encountered the third player. Upon this, Akashi attempted to drive past him before noticing the first player from before reaching the ball from behind. At the same time, the second player was at his left, and he realized he was already nearing the side line, making it quite impossible to escape this situation. _Not bad_ , he thought, after all usually he would not allow himself to be in this position. Perhaps he was distracted from his thought of utilizing the full power Emperor Eye once more.

"Akashi!" the other Uncrowned King shouted, as the Akashi seemed to fall closer and closer out of the court.

Then, Akashi smiled and made a pass to a first string player through a small opening he found. Everyone on the court was bewildered at his action, and then suddenly the ball curved upwards towards the hoop, to which Nebuya appeared and made an alley-oop dunk, ending the game.

Everyone turned towards the space to find out the identity of the mysterious passer. Kotaro and Mibuchi smiled. Everyone else barely noticed the young man standing in the middle of the court, with grey hair, a rather skinny build, as well as empty-looking desolate eyes. Akashi walked towards him.

"Playing as an alumnus, eh?" The young man smiled.

* * *

"Alright, so guys! Here's our new Center: Shinn Asaki!" Riko announced, seemingly impressed with her own decision.

The other members clapped enthusiastically. Asaki was about 190cm, the same height as Kagami, but unlike him, seemed much more reserved and quiet. Nevertheless, the Ace noted a sort of ferocity and wild hunger burning deep within his black eyes. Despite not totally catching his trials, Kagami did see Asaki easily blocking off a two pointer from one of the members.

"He seems reliable," Kuroko said solemnly, causing Kagami to jump in shock.

"Damn it Kuroko! Don't scare me!" he snapped back, but then quickly returned to his calm voice. "Yeah… he looks strong…"

"But I feel like I've seen him from somewhere…"

It was quite ominous yet odd at the same time. Last year, the strongest players were the Generation of Miracles, but Kagami had a nagging feeling that this year's juniors would prove to be a challenge for the Miracles. Having rested enough, he stood up and walked towards their new center, whom stared at him back.

"You are… Kagami… Taiga…" he mumbled. Kagami grinned back, pulling out his hand.

"Yep, welcome to the team!" And they both shook hands. Kagami looked down and noted how firm his grip was. "If you don't mind, let's have a one-on-one."

"Wha—" There was an instant uproar among the members.

"Kagami, what do you think you're doing?" Hyuga asked, half amused.

"He's just a junior, you know…" Izuki sighed. "Don't go challenging everyone you think is strong…"

"No… it's okay… Let's play," Asaki said, dropping the soft and gentle voice. Something seemed to stir up in him, causing Kagami to smirk viciously. He picked up the ball and they both made their way to the center of the court.

"First to five wins then," Asaki said. Kagami started with the basketball. For some reason, he had the same pumped up feeling when he first faced Kise Ryota of the Generation of Miracles.

Kagami dribbled on the spot, observing Asaki, whom took on a relaxed defensive stance. In an extreme burst of speed, Kagami made a crossover towards his left hand and darted towards Asaki's right, and as expected, the center easily followed this. He had expected this; in a fluid motion, Kagami spun around, and cut towards the opposite direction, enabling him pass Asaki, whom was still twisting his ankle. The other members cheered as Kagami reached the hoop, and then he took off –

Asaki was already behind him, and his hand came down like a jackhammer, rejecting Kagami's dunk with absurd ease. The other members stared in shock as the ball landed on the polished wooden floor and rolled towards the side.

 _He… rejected my dunk?_ Kagami thought, and stared back at him. _This bastard… He's fast no doubt…_

Asaki picked up the basketball and returned to the centre of the court. He dribbled the ball lightly, whilst Kagami watched. Then –

Asaki suddenly made a movement directly forward towards Kagami, causing him to involuntarily take a step back. With this, Asaki easily drove towards Kagami's left with that split second gap, and passed him. However, Kagami was too fast for him, and easily turning his body, he managed a backtip that knocked the ball out of Asaki hands, causing his eyes to widen. Wasting no time, Kagami dashed forward, and in two steps, managed his way around Asaki and caught the ball in a similar fashion to Daiki Aomine's irregular play. He quickly dribbled the ball and shot the ball from the paint, scoring his first point. As he looked back, he saw Asaki observing his palm that was backtipped, and then, he smiled.

"Senpai… Let's continue…" Asaki said.

The ball flew under Kagami's legs, causing him to freeze in surprise, however, he got back a moment later, and stretched out his arms to blocks Asaki's path. In a fraction of a second, Asaki made a behind-the-back crossover, and drove to Kagami's opposite side. At this instant, the steam and air around Kagami's body grew increasing hotter, and Asaki's eyes widened. _This is, the Wild?_ He thought, and at once his suspicions were confirmed for Kagami's instinct and senses were enhanced to the point where without even turning his head, he darted for the ball and managed to block off Asaki completely, with his back facing him and his arms stretched out.

 _Nevertheless, if you're blocking my left side with your back, this makes it easier to drive to your right…!_ Asaki quickly made a crossover to his right while strafing in that direction, and drove forward but Kagami had anticipated this and also turned his body 180 degrees to the right, his huge stature completely sealing off Asaki's path just as his right hand received the ball.

 _Damn it…!_ And with a moment of hesitation, Kagami swung his left hand with full force and thrust the basketball out of Asaki's hands. Using the momentum, he continued spinning around and then jumped and made a slam dunk. The points went to Kagami, earning him victory as the other members cheered. With that, Kagami won with a 5-3.

He shook hands with him, exhausted but satisfied.

"Damn… You're definitely strong…" Kagami grinned, and Asaki smiled back. "Glad to be part of the team," he replied.

As he walked back to Kuroko, whom was observing him, the phantom player handed him a bottle of water, to which he took a huge gulp. He then took his towel and wiped of the beads from perspiration pouring down on his face.

"Damn… he was real good… even better than me when I first started…" Kagami muttered.

"Yeah… no doubt about that," Kuroko replied bluntly, causing Kagami to stare at him irritably.

"Couldn't you be nicer?" Kagami said, looking away.

"No, I meant it," Kuroko said, "Because I have seen him before." And Kagami looked back at him in surprise. "Back in Teiko, I mean…" he added, and then said no more.

 _Teiko, huh? That's where the Generation of Miracles were at before… no wonder he was strong…_ Kagami thought. _Kuroko's junior…_

* * *

Once again, somewhere far way, in a large school influenced largely by western culture, stood a large purple haired young man. He was observing his own set of recruits as well, although this did not matter much to him. In fact, he was more concerned with what's for dinner at home. Feeling some drowsy, he yawned audibly, causing his coach to whack him on the head with her wooden sword.

"What's that for Masako-chin…?" Murasakibara Atsushi muttered, rubbing the back of his head even though it barely hurt.

"Call me coach!" Masako Araki snapped back, looking up at him. Despite the height difference of over 60 cm, she was not intimidated one bit. Muraskibara looked away and yawned once again, causing her to grit her teeth.

"Now now, coach," Tatsuya Himuro tapped her back. "How's our new players?" he asked calmly.

Masako sighed. "Well for one thing, they ARE tall… so we got that going…" It was obvious that some of the juniors were definitely over two metres. "But we are still doing tryouts… Thank god this region of Japan has some pretty tall guys…" she muttered as she stared at Kenichi Okumura, now an alumnus, watching over the tryouts.

"Hey… why don't our old members join as alumni…?" Murasakibara asked lazily.

"Because they are buzy," Himuro replied quickly. "Anyway I see some prominent ones…" pointing at a young man whose height was over two metres, with brown hair. "And there's another one…" pointing again at this time, a much shorter one around 1.7 metres.

"Huh…? Muro-chin are you serious? That guy is way too short…" Murasakibara said with a hint of mockery. Nevertheless, he did note that the shorter player had a fierce aura around him, although when he did his tryouts, his playstyle genuinely surprised him.

The shorter player, despite his height, was fast, which reminded him very much of his former teammate Aomine Daiki, whose skill was his agility and freestyle play, although in this case, the player mostly stuck to fast drives and cuts before passing. It was clear he could not dunk, and whilst practicing with the other tall members, shooting without the risk of getting blocked was difficult, thus he adapted his playstyle accordingly.

"Heh, I like that guy…" Masako whispered audibly. "Maybe now Yosen High can not only have an impregnable defence, but piercing offense as well…" and Himuro nodded.

After a while, the new Yosen Team was finally formed. It consisted of: Murasakibara Atsushi (209 cm), Wei Liu (204 cm), Tatsuya Himuro (185 cm), and two new members, Yukio Matsuda (206 cm), Ryo Hideki (175 cm). No matter how anyone looks at this team, they certainly look very imposing.

"Right… let's begin practice then," Masako concluded, "this new team versus…" which caused the other members to all think at the same time: _Are you kidding me right now? We would lose!_

Nevertheless, Murasakibara seemed to notice something strangely familiar about Ryo, as though he had seen him before. He stood out because apart from being one of the shortest players, he had a trademark, tuff of white hair amidst this black spiky hair.

"Hey… Ryo-chin… are you from Teiko…?" Murasakibara asked, causing the first-year to look back up at him. He grinned, showing his pearly white teeth.

"Yep, I was your junior back then ya know!" he said, waving his finger at him. Murasakibara raised his eyebrows. "Huh… interesting…" As always, he did not really pay much attention to anyone in the basketball club apart from the Generation of Miracles.

He then remembered that the juniors that were one year beneath them were quite good too, only to be overshadowed by the Generation of Miracles. If anything, there were a few players back then that were easily on the Uncrowned King level, a group of talented individuals with skills just a notch below Generation of Miracles.

 _I wonder if the rest also got our juniors…_ Murasakibara wondered into the air. _They were pretty good… I think…_

* * *

Night fell quickly soon, and in Too Academy, their very first practice just ended as well. Unfortunately, the tryouts would only start the next day, hence the team had to practice with their limited numbers. As per usual, Aomine Daiki, the former Ace of the Generation of Miracles, found some excuse to get out of practice ("sorry, my stomach is kinda hurting…" or "something cropped up at home…"), although admittedly even without practice, he could easily trounce everyone in the gym; a testament to how absurdly strong he was. Despite this, he was in fact practicing harder than he had last year, having suffered his first true defeat, which motivated him to start practicing again, although trying to play with the team had been rather difficult considering that his playstyle was extremely individualistic. He sighed and rubbed the back of his head as he entered the empty gymnasium with his Satstuki Momoi, his longtime childhood friend and the Basketball club manager.

"Dai-chan, what are we doing here?" she asked curiously.

"Training," Aomine replied shortly. "Playing with the team, passing here and there is… hard," he finished lamely.

Momoi stared at him in surprise. _Dai-chan is actually making an effort?_

"Anyway, since no one is here, I'm going to do some of my own practice, and you can help me," he continued and pulled an entire metal rack of basketballs towards them.

"Err… how are we doing this?" Momoi asked nervously as she observed Aomine pulling off his jacket, revealing his sports uniform and muscular physique.

"ZONE, let's test the full capacity of it."

"Eh?"

"It's simple, in a minute, count how many baskets, and while you're at it, maybe grab some of the balls and put it in this rack so I can pick them up," Aomine explained.

"Wait… I know you're speed is really, really fast, but in a minute, you're going to run to the basket and see how many…? I mean that's abit…" Momoi said, but Aomine cut across her.

"Look, just help me… I've been practicing too. I just wanna see how far I can go," he finished impatiently.

Momoi nodded, and took out a stop watch. Aomine closed his eyes and concentrated; his mind was becoming blanker…

"Ready…" he heard her voice from far away.

"Go."

His eyes flashed opened and blue streaks of lightning flashed from his eyes. Right now, he was in the ZONE. He agilely dribbled to the hoop and made a dunk, causing a loud crashing sound to echo around the empty gym. Without wasting any time, Aomine rushed to pick up another ball near the sideline, and with one swift motion, he turned around and made a one handed signature formless short, which went into the hoop easily. Aomine continued this non-stop, continuously picking up basketballs around the court and making all sorts of shots and dunks while Momoi observed him quietly, counting.

 _His speed was really impressive_ , she thought, and even though she had seen this kind of movement from him all the time ever since they were kids, but seeing them again in the ZONE is really something else. Apart from that, she was also really elated that Dai-Chan was practicing seriously again, after losing to Seirin.

In the ZONE, it is said that the athlete in question becomes so immersed in their play, that all unnecessary thoughts disappear, but yet even in the ZONE, while Aomine was fully concentrated on making his shots, occasional thoughts of his former loss against Seirin would suddenly agitate him, thus causing him to dunk or dribble more aggressively. He made crossovers look so easily, and even without an opponent, keeping track of the ball might even be difficult for a non-basketball player due his unchanging pace and unpredictable style. Aomine dribbled and jumped past the base line (behind the backboard). While it would seem absurd why he would do this, Aomine would defy common sense by simply throwing the ball upwards without looking and the ball would follow through in a perfect arc and land into the hoop.

Clearly, it wasn't a bluff when people say he can score from anywhere he wants.

However, even after a minute, Aomine kept going, so Momoi simply stood there observed. Whilst Aomine was scoring, she would even bring out another rack to supply two dozen more basketballs, and even minutes, the entire gymnasium was scattered with basketballs.

After his 50th shot, Aomine suddenly stopped and fell on his knees. His body was completely drenched in sweat and his legs were shaking. The blue streaks of lightning faded away as he exited from the ZONE, while Momoi quickly rushed to him with a bottle of sports drinks and a towel. Aomine sat on the floor completely exhausted with his legs stretched out and downed the bottle, while Momoi massaged his calves.

"How long was that?" He asked. Momoi gave him a rather gleeful look.

"8 Minutes and about 30 seconds, I think? It's about 10 seconds per shot, although there were dunks too!" Momoi said excitedly while holding up her stopwatch. "It's a record Dai-Chan! I'm really proud of you, hehe!"

Aomine however look disgruntled. So for now, his limit is 8 minutes in the ZONE? It has improved by about 2 minutes from back then when his limit was about 6 minutes during his game with Seirin High, but _is it really enough_? He thought deeply. Furthermore, for this session, he was playing by himself, and there were basketballs scattered all over the court, and after these 8 minutes, it would be unlikely that he could continue playing since his fatigue was at his peak. _It's not enough_ , Aomine concluded, _I need to actually train with an actual player…_

At this juncture, the gymnasium door opened, causing both of them to turn their heads. It was a young man whom they recognized immediately. He had shiny black hair and was wearing glasses and a nasty tricky grin.

"What are you doing here…?" Aomine panted.

"…Imayoshi senpai?" Momoi quickly added.

The former captain of the Too Academy Basketball club strolled in, and like always, he was smiling. Shoichi Imayoshi approached them, and then squatted down in front of them.

"You, Aomine, of all people, practicing?" he said, sniggering.

"What, you got a problem with that?" Aomine retorted, and the former captain laughed.

"Well, I suppose you should be practicing after last year's Winter Cup," he continued, although his face somewhat hardened as it was his last tournament in high school as well.

"But anyway," he continued and turned to Momoi, "I just saw some of the juniors just now, they were observing your practice."

"Really?" Momoi replied in surprise.

"Yep, so watch out. For some reason, I reckon they are quite strong too…" Imayoshi muttered, his grin slightly fading.

"How do you know that?" Aomine asked, and the former captain looked back at him.

"I recognize him… He's from Teiko too…"

Aomine and Momoi simply stared back at him, although Aomine did not look as concerned as Momoi.

"Are you playing as an alumnus?" he asked.

"No… I haven't got the time with everything that I have now…" Imayoshi replied. "Maybe next time, I'll play some streetball with you guys…"

And with that, he stood up and sighed.

"Back then, if only our team was stronger, huh?" he mumbled. "Don't make that mistake of not practicing again, y'know?"

Aomine looked away, somewhat abashed of himself. Deep down, he slightly knew it was his fault for their loss last year for not practicing hard enough.

"But this year ought to be interesting, I mean, there's gonna be a lot of strong players, and everybody's fighting hard after Seirin defeated them all… …"

There was a short pause. Then he finally looked back at them.

"You'll probably need a stronger rival to practice with, well, that's what I feel anyway."

Aomine looked up at him.

"Alright, I'll be seeing you… Bye…" And with that, Imayoshi left.

"Why did he even come here…" Aomine muttered and he got up on his feet. Though somewhat twitching, he could at least still walk.

"I agree with him you know," Momoi said suddenly.

"About what?"

"You need a rival… anyway tiring out yourself every practice with ZONE won't be effective in the long run…" she continued thoughtfully.

Aomine said nothing, and then proceeded to quickly clear away the basketballs. He was deep in thought; _a rival huh…_

After about fifteen minutes, everything was finally packed in order. He put on his jacket and turned to Momoi.

"Satsuki, pass me my phone," Aomine said to Momoi. Momoi gave a confused expression and passed it to him.

"What're you doing?" She asked.

"Getting a trainer," Aomine answered solemnly. He didn't want to do this, but if he really wanted to improve, he did not have much of choice. He unlocked his phone, dialed a certain number and put the phone to his ears. After a moment, the person on the other end picked up.

"Aomine-cchi?"

* * *

 **So here's chapter 2. Definitely added much more to my prototype chapter 2, which focuses on Seirin and abit of Yosen. There's gonna be a little subplot i guess for the new members as some of them are from Teiko, so you know, new rivals and stuff and all that. Comment and Review guys!  
**


	3. Chapter 3 - Training Again

**CHAPTER 3 – Training Again**

The sky was a bright azure blue, with a few clouds blocking the intensely blinding sun, in addition to the heat; it was certainly the perfect weather for a picnic, but then again not everyone has the time for picnics. For athletes, no matter the weather, training takes precedence over everything else, and this mindset was no different for Aomine Daiki. Then again, for today, it was not like he had a choice in coming here to practice. He already informed Momoi that he was going out to practice with his trainer, to which she beamed happily at him (though the captain Wakamatsu was extremely suspicious of him skipping practices), and currently he was walking to the basketball court where his trainer should be waiting for him.

"Tsk…" Aomine grumbled, clearly annoyed that he had to ask this guy, but oh well, whatever helps.

A few hundred meters away, at the basketball court, a young blonde man with the looks of a perfect model that almost any girl would instantly fall for was waiting there. _Thank God the sun isn't that hot_ , he thought, feeling rather annoyed that the person that asked him here was late. However, it had been some time since their last meeting on Kuroko's Birthday, and he was really interested in meeting him. Aomine had informed a little of what they would be doing today, though he was very shocked when he heard the request over phone; after Aomine was always a loner, a solo-type, and for him to ask someone to train him must mean he was serious. He smiled to himself, and took of his uniform jacket, and folded up his sleeves. He picked up the basketball lying beside him and dribbled leisurely to the free-throw line. _Oh well, might as well practice some shooting huh_ , he thought, and just as he released the ball, a tall figure with tanned skin and dark blue suddenly dash in front of him and jumped, catching the ball in mid-air before throwing the ball into the hoop effortlessly in one swift motion. The man landed and turned towards him.

"Yo, Kise. Sorry I'm late."

* * *

Several hundred miles away, back in Too academy, the basketball team was practicing hard, even without their Ace. The team consisted of Kosuke Wakamastsu, the captain as well as the center, Ryo Sakurai, the shooting guard, Aomine Daiki, the power forward as well as their Ace, and two new members: Hirose Kazuyuki, playing the point guard, and Miyake Zeshin, playing small forward. During last year's Interhigh, Too Academy lost to Rakuzan High, although the Miracles from both schools Aomine and Akashi did not play at all. Nevertheless, Wakamatsu knows that with three Uncrowned Kings on the other team, the odds are clearly not in their favour at all, hence causing him to be stricter and more frustrated during practices. Compared to last year's team, which consisted of Shoichi Imayoshi and Yoshinori Susa, the new point guard (according to Momoi) has around the stats of Imayoshi, although he was not as cunning as the former captain. Meanwhile, Zeshin has a slightly smaller build, making him faster than Susa, although he may lack strength. That's not to say that the current players did not improve: Sakurai could formerly make safe threes as long he was confident, but with much effort, his technique has improved a greatly, while Wakamatsu has grown several centimeters and built up muscles, making him an overall stronger center. Finally, Aomine has also been making rapid improvements in his plays, most prominently in his style and pace. While the teamwork of Too may still need some work, the individual talents are definitely something not to be taken lightly.

However, according to Momoi, there was supposed to be another member here for Tryouts, and funnily enough, this person was also from Teiko, which meant that he was her junior. At first, Wakamatsu looked obviously cheerful when he heard a Teiko player was joining the team, which meant that this would dramatically enhance their fighting power, but to his disappointment, this junior did not appear for tryouts.

"Oi Guys, let's go!" Wakamatsu shouted at the team, whom nodded, looking slightly intimidated.

Currently they were practicing against the first-string players, and the main focus of this game was to improve the coordination among the players. After all, they could not fully rely on the Ace during a game.

Sakurai caught the ball and prepared a three point shot, however a first string player quickly rush towards him. In a bizarre manner similar to Hyuga from Seirin High, Sakurai's usual nervous and unsure attitude would suddenly change into something much more confident. Likewise, his signature _quick release three pointers_ would be much quicker and accurate as well. "Hmph, you ain't getting this!" He said smugly, and released his shot. If a normal three pointer shot was like person throwing a baseball with an overhand, Sakurai's quick releases would be akin to a cannon aimed 45 degrees. The basketball moved to through the air with such velocity and yet still ended perfectly through the hoop. Sakurai smiled and gave an out-of-character like pout, before returning to his usual demeanor. "I – I won't let you through!" He said, as though attempting to sound intimidating to the third year guarding him, causing the latter to look confused and amused.

The ball soon fell into Kazuyuki's grip. At this point, Momoi's focus sharpened. _Time to see what this first year can do_ , she thought. Within a split second, a first string player got to him. At this moment, Kazuyuki's shoulder seemed to slacken but his pupil's clearly dilated and his irises glowed, and he could pinpoint the position of everyone near him. He had not showed this skill during tryouts, but he thought this may be a good time to show it off. As the first string player attempted a steal, he quickly made a crossover between his legs and threw the ball behind his back to the captain.

"Wakamatsu!" Kazuyuki shouted. The captain smiled, and in his passion dribbled to the opposing hoop and made dunk easily, passing two other players expertly. "Alright!" He shouted. Momoi noted these down on her notebook. Clearly, the team has improved from last year, but then again they still have much to improve. _The match is in a month, so they still have some time_ , Momoi thought, _but… their definitely improving!_ And with that, Zeshin successfully made a two-pointer.

"Yes!" Zeshin celebrated quietly to himself. "I can do this …!"

Momoi beamed at this sight. Maybe… maybe they can really do this. However, her thoughts still lingered on this mysterious junior. _Could it be?_

* * *

"So whatcha call me out for?" Kise asked cheerfully.

"Well, I… I need you to help me train," Aomine replied grudgingly. It was awkward to do this, especially when he remembered him not helping Kise up after their match during last year's Interhigh.

Kise looked rather confused. "Huh? How am I supposed to train you? Anyway, aren't you stronger than me?" He asked smoothly, although Aomine could detect a sense of jealousy behind those words.

"You have the perfect copy, right?" Aomine said. "So—"

"—you want me to imitate Akashi's Emperor Eye with my Perfect Copy, I get it" Kise interjected coolly. Aomine looked rather irritated at this, as he could feel his face becoming slightly hotter.

"But~ Kasamatsu-senpai might scold me~ And also I have some modeling later~ I don't wanna get so sweaty~ Anyway is this how you ask someone for something Aomine-cchi~ You need to learn some matters~" Kise started complaining in his usual whiny manner, causing Aomine to burst out "Shut up!" at the last complaint. Nevertheless, Aomine mustered some courage, and reaffirmed his request. "Oi, so will you help me?"

At this instant, Kise's eyes turned slightly colder. "But why should I help you?" He asked, still with that gleeful tone.

Aomine frowned. He understood what he meant. After all, Kise does not have any reason to really help him, an enemy from another school that he might compete against. He sighed, and then said, "If you don't want to help, its fine. I won't force you then."

Kise looked rather surprised at this. He certainly did not expect such… humility from Aomine of all people. Perhaps his loss against Kuroko-cchi and Kagami-cchi did change him, huh? But Aomine disrupted his train of thought.

"Anyway, you can use this opportunity to get back at me for last year, no?" Aomine said smugly, his demeanor transitioning back to his usual self-confident self. He picked up the basketball and spun it on his finger, as though he was taunting him.

Kise smiled. "Alright…" He preferred Aomine in his usual self anyway.

"But you gotta treat me lunch or something kays~ Aomine-cchi~"

"Go to hell!"

* * *

Somewhere, far, far away, an emperor is gazing out at his throne. Akashi stood alone in the Rakuzan High, shrouded in darkness and gazing at the hoop far above him. Although he had the capacity to dunk, Akashi wasn't sure whether he could do it in his current state. The other "him" could do it effortlessly, but this made him rather uneasy. Sure, he was the point guard, which means his job is to direct the team's offense, by passing the ball to the right players at the right time, however he did sometimes wonder if with his power, he was worth something more. Most of the time, he would somehow push this thought to the back of his mind, but occasionally he would just keep pondering about.

A voice inside of him spoke, _hey, would you mind if I practice a bit?_ Akashi frowned. _No_ , he thought, _I'm not letting you out again._ The voice, however, pressed him further _. Against anyone else, you may not need me, but against Daiki, you do._ When Akashi didn't respond, the voice continued, _just this once. I know my limits. I won't hurt him, but you need the Emperor Eye to face off with him._ Akashi probed his thoughts further, _why Aomine?_ And the other him replied, _well, we clearly know the rankings of the Generation of Miracles…_ Akashi frowned, _but it depends on the team, no?_

 _You know that's not what I mean…._ The other voice sounded different. Somehow, Akashi could sense something from the other him. Longing? Forgiveness? Regret? Maybe something like that, but he wasn't fully convinced. _I see… I understand then, maybe next time_ , the voice concluded. Akashi sighed, and felt slightly guilty. He was different from one year ago, he was not the same perfectionist as he was before, Akashi thought, and he was sure the other him could sense his thoughts. _Just maybe… huh…_

And with that, Akashi picked up a basketball and dribbled to the hoop. His cat-like slits for pupils widened and he jumped from the ground, reaching near the hoop's height, and dunked. He smiled as he landed, as though a bit of weight chained around his heart was removed, allowing him to soar the skies.

* * *

"When's your next practice?" Aomine asked lamely as he took off his jacket and strolled towards Kise.

"Umm, in two days I guess? We just practiced in the afternoon," Kise replied in his cheery tone.

"It won't affect your performance now, right?" Aomine asked, frowning a little.

"Nah, come at me with all you got. Just keep in mind Perfect Copy lasts a total of 5 minutes, we can last a maximum of 30 minutes if I use it sparingly, kay?" Kise explained.

"Heh, no problem," Aomine smirked. The feeling of facing an opponent that could be as strong as him made him excited inside. He took on his offensive stance and dribbled on the spot, while Kise took on a defensive stance.

Kise Ryota, the most versatile member of the Generation of Miracles. With an eye so observant, Kise could easily see a move, memorize it and replicate it if his body could allow it. Even back in Teiko, due to this skill of "copying", Kise excelled in almost every sport back then, although it was after seeing Aomine play basketball that made him interested in it. With this skill, Kise could easily copy many basketball moves, and in that sense stock up a whole list of moves at his disposal. Furthermore, after much training both mentally and physically, by last year's Winter Cup, Kise enhanced his copying to Perfect Copy, where he was able to adapt his style and movements to imitate moves and plays of the Generation of Miracles. As such, he is able to use these moves and even combine them to further boost their capabilities, although doing so taxes his body due to him having to compensate in many different ways to imitate the respective skills. For example, if he were to recreate Aomine's speed, though his maximum speed is not as fast, his acceleration and change of pace would be the same. As a result, such implication limits the use of Perfect Copy for a maximum of 5 minutes. Naturally, while five minutes may not seem as much, within this tiny amount, you will be at the mercy of Kise Ryota.

Without warning, Aomine started his pace: dribbling the ball on the sport at first, then suddenly switching with the other hand, and then behind his back. In an instant, he suddenly drives forward with extreme speed in an attempt to pass Kise. Naturally, Kise did not react unwell to this for he did play against Aomine before, albeit he lost. Activating his perfect copy, which causes his iris to glow, Kise used Akashi's Emperor Eye, where he used in observant eye to predict Aomine's movements with extreme accuracy.

"There!" Kise shouted, and reach his hand out to where Aomine's ball would land.

 _Impressive_ , Aomine thought. He knew of Akashi's skill, but he had never truly played against it head-on like this. He had seen this before, but it still surprised him to see Kise reacting before he even dribbled to that position. Kise's hands were inches from the ball—

But Aomine's reaction was faster. In a swift motion, he redirected the ball and made a behind the back crossover, at the same time shifting his body to drive in the other direction. However, Kise was one step ahead of him. With the Emperor Eye, his other hand instantly reached out to near Aomine's hip area where the ball would appear behind his back after bouncing off the ground. Again, Aomine was impressed, and he instinctively smiled. Using his receiving hand, he instead shifted it such that his knuckles would be facing Kise's palms, and he caught the ball in an odd angle. Wasting no unnecessary actions, he pushed the ball back and stepped back, dribbling the ball with that one hand.

Kise deactivated his Perfect Copy, causing his irises to stop glowing, and he smiled. _Not bad eh_ , he muttered. Certainly, Aomine's speed was really nothing to laugh at, for even after predicting his movements twice, Kise still could not catch up to him. It was rather amazing how this exchange took place in a total duration of less than 5 seconds. A drop of sweat trickled down Aomine's forehead. Who knew that combating the Emperor Eye would be this hard?

"Hey, it's been only like ten seconds and you're giving up?" Kise taunted. Aomine's smile widened even more.

"Heh, tell me more when you can actually catch me." Aomine replied smugly, who was still dribbling the ball. His heart was beating faster than usual. _Let's go again, shall we?_

Aomine's squinted eyes widened as he attempted to drive again. Kise's eyes flashed again, and his hand reached out, but Aomine spun around and managed to pass him, expertly crossing the ball over to his other hand at the same time, and rushed for the hoop. However, he was surprised when Kise managed to catch up to him. A slight tinge of blue faded away in his wake.

"Copying my speed, eh?" Aomine uttered. But he quickly gripped the basketball and shifted it behind his back while holding it. And then, in that position, he leaned forward, using the momentum from his dribbling, and flicked the ball towards the hoop from his back. It was one of many shots used by Aomine, although he did before while in the air against Kagami.

"Not so fast!" Kise shouted, and he jumped up with his hands straight out. As though he suddenly grew an extra 20 cm, he easily slammed the basketball down. Aomine's expression changed slightly, looking rather impressed.

"Murasakibara, eh," Aomine remarked, as Kise landed. Certainly, a one-on-one against him in his Perfect Copy state would be quite annoying when he could simply copy the skills of any of the five Miracles to respond to the situation.

Kise turned his head to face him. "Aomine-cchi, we still got some time ya know…" He muttered as his irises turned back to normal again. "You're gonna owe me ice-cream if you lose…"

To be honest, Aomine had not fully gone all out yet. At his current base form, he would estimate he was around 75%, and he still had ZONE. It has been only a minute since they started playing, and yet Aomine was already feeling that he was out of his comfort zone.

He sighed, and then said, "Sure, ice-cream to the winner. I won't… hold back anymore." _Let's try 100% now._

* * *

Akashi packed his belongings, and stared at the mirror in his locker room. Both of his irises were red in colour, but one in a while, he could see his left eye turn gold again.

Did he himself want to him to appear again? _Yes_ , a voice spoke.

Did he want that strength again? _Yes_ , the voice grew stronger.

So that no one can oppose him? _Yes_ , the voice spoke through his mouth.

Akashi's eyes widened. For a fleeting moment, it was as though his other self had overtaken him completely. He gulped, and stared at his own reflection, pondering deeply. That day, long ago, just after the Teiko Coach had been replaced, the day his other self appeared… Akashi closed his eyes, for he could still remember his confrontation with Aomine back then. Perhaps this is why the other he was so focused on Aomine out of all the Generation of Miracles.

With that, he brushed the thought off, and took off to the classroom for his extra classes. Nevertheless, he could still see that moment… In the court, Aomine in front of him… the rain and thunder… and then… their confrontation.

* * *

 **Third Chapter here, slightly shorter at 3k words. So yep, not much different from the prototype, but i just added a few minor details here and there. Also, adding a subplot about something that happened between Aomine and Akashi a long time ago... Yup. Review and comment so i can get yall feedback!  
**


End file.
